Wei Jingsheng Foundation News and Article: A1294-W910

魏京生基金会新闻与文章发布号：A1294-W910

Release Date: June 2, 2020

发布日：2020年6月2日

Topic: May 4th Movement and June 4th Movement -- Wei Jingsheng

标题：五四运动与六四运动 -- 魏京生

Original Language Version: Chinese (Chinese version at the end)

此号以中文为准（英文在前，中文在后）

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May 4th Movement and June 4th Movement

-- Wei Jingsheng

The May 4th Movement in 1919 and the June 4th Movement in 1989 have many similarities and differences. The first similarity is patriotism, both campaigns were under the banner of patriotism. But the patriotism of the May 4th Movement was a patriotism against foreigners, while the patriotism of the June 4th Movement wasn’t. In 1919, it was foreigners who bullied China during the May 4th Movement; in contrast, during the June 4th Massacre, people found out that it was the Chinese government that bullied the Chinese people.

One of the biggest differences between these two was whether one believes in the government or not. The young intellectuals of the May 4th Movement in 1919 did not believe in their government, and launched a campaign against the government. The young intellectuals in 1989 acted as they were against the government, while being in support of the Chinese government in reality. Therefore, young intellectuals in May 4th, 1919, were more real and bolder than students in 1989, due to their rights to speak were more guaranteed.

The biggest commonality between the May 4th Movement and the June 4th Movement were that both held high the banner of democracy and freedom. After that, the trend of Chinese ideology must also hold high the banner of democracy and freedom. Otherwise it will not be supported by Chinese intellectuals. Even the Chinese Communist Party that pursues authoritarianism, holds high the banner of democracy and freedom. Not only did it appear outside the party under the slogan of democracy and freedom, but also the banner of democracy and freedom was held high within the party, in order to gain the following of most literati who can read but do not really understand communism. Many children of this generation of communist intellectuals take names of freedom, universal suffrage, civil rights, etc.

Since the May 4th Movement, two different democracies and freedoms parted ways and started to compete. One is Western-style democracy with a representative system as the basic model. Its laws advocate equality for all, and democracy covers all citizens. Its economic system is based on private property and regulates a huge society through the market. The other is communist democracy based on Marx's theory. Its basic model is to use one class to oppress members of other classes. Its economic system claims to be owned by all the people, distributed evenly, and regulates a huge society with the plan by a government with concentrated power.

Representative democracy has equal rights, but its inequality of the market economy is open, visible and theoretically determined. The partial democracy of the Communist Party does not seem fair, but it claims to include most people. Its communist plan looks fair in theory. Therefore, in peacetime, communism is not very attractive to the Chinese society that was used to a market economy. It was only attractive to a few intellectuals who don’t care about daily lives in people’s homes.

Therefore, before the Sino-Japanese War, the communist ideology of property equality and most people oppressing a few was only popular among a few intellectuals in China. Even if the focus was shifted to the countryside, only a few of the poorest people would actively accept it. Most peasants, including many relatively poorer peasants, did not accept the idea of communism, except the idea of equally dividing the land. The Communist Party’s Agrarian Revolutionary War was unsuccessful and was almost wiped out in just a few years.

It was a protracted Sino-Japanese war that produced a large number of urban and rural poor. The Chinese Communist Party has also learned to hide its communist nature and won the support of most intellectuals and peasants with its pretended democracy and market economy. Finally, a system of one-party dictatorship and a planned economy was established. The economic essence of this system is a replica of feudal serfdom. The so-called class dictatorship would inevitably move towards a one-party dictatorship or even a dictatorship by a few people.

In 1979, under the resistance of the Chinese people, the economic system of feudal serfdom was overthrown in China. However, the Chinese Communist Party found that the traditional Chinese model of managing the market economy with an authoritarian regime can be used as a reference to maintain the communist one-party dictatorship. Of course, the Chinese people and the foreign experts on China who do not understand China were still fooled with its claim of reforming politics. The pain caused by the continuation of the one-party dictatorship, coupled with the huge inequality brought by half-way economic reforms, was the social basis for the 1989 democratic movement.

The democratic movement 31 years ago pointed out the goal of abolishing the one-party dictatorship for the Chinese people. Although it was suppressed after a huge bloody sacrifice, its clear ideological goals are the direction of the Chinese people's efforts in the future. Today, the retrograde actions of the Chinese Communist regime at home and abroad are a manifestation that this deformed system cannot be sustained. The goal of the 1989 Democracy Movement has won the support of most Chinese people, so it is only a matter of time before it is achieved.

(This English version is translated by Ciping HUANG, without any compensation. Wei Jingsheng and the Wei Jingsheng Foundation appreciate her decades of contribution, especially for allowing the use and distribution of her translations of these commentaries.)

Original link of the commentary broadcasted by Radio Free Asia:

https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/pinglun/weijingsheng/wjs-06022020112200.html

To hear Mr. Wei Jingsheng's related commentary, please visit:

http://www.weijingsheng.org/RFA/RFA2020/WeiJS200601onMay4June4.mp3

(Written and recorded on June 1, 2020. Broadcasted by Radio Free Asia on June 2, 2020.)

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中文版

Wei Jingsheng Foundation News and Article: A1294-W910

魏京生基金会新闻与文章发布号：A1294-W910

Release Date: June 2, 2020

发布日：2020年6月2日

Topic: May 4th Movement and June 4th Movement -- Wei Jingsheng

标题：五四运动与六四运动 -- 魏京生

Original Language Version: Chinese (Chinese version at the end)

此号以中文为准（英文在前，中文在后）

如有中文乱码问题，请与我们联系或访问：

http://www.weijingsheng.org/report/report2020/report2020-06/WeiJS200602onMay4June4A1294-W910.htm

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五四运动与六四运动

-- 魏京生

五四运动与六四运动有许多相似的地方，也有许多不同。第一个相似的地方就是爱国主义，两场运动都打着爱国主义的旗号。但五四运动的爱国主义是对外的爱国，六四的爱国主义是对内的爱国。五四的时候欺负中国的是外国人；六四的时候人们发现，欺负中国人民的是中国的官府。

一个最大的不同是相信不相信政府。五四的青年知识分子不相信政府，以反政府的面貌发起了运动。六四的青年知识分子以支持政府的面貌，行反政府之实。所以五四的青年知识分子比六四的学生更真实，更大胆。因为他们说话的权利更有保障。

五四运动与六四运动的最大共同点，就是都高举民主自由的旗帜。在那之后的中国思想潮流，都必须高举民主自由的旗帜，否则得不到知识分子的支持。即使奉行专制主义的共产党，也高举民主自由的旗帜。不但在党外以民主自由的口号出现，在党内也高举民主自由的旗帜，以此获得大部分不懂共产主义的识字分子们的追随。这一代共产知识分子的子女取名字，很多就叫做自由、普选、民权，等等。

从五四运动开始，两种不同的民主自由也开始分道扬镳，开始竞争。一种是西方式的、以代议制为基本模式的民主。其法律崇尚人人平等，民主涵盖了全体国民。其经济体制以私人财产为基础，以市场调节庞大的社会。另一种是以马克思的理论为基础的共产主义民主。它以一个阶级压迫另外阶级的成员为基本模式。其经济体制号称全民所有制，平均分配，以权力集中的政府计划调节庞大的社会。

代议制民主人人权利平等，但是市场经济的不平等是公开的，可见的和理论上确定的。共产党的一部分人民主看上去不怎么公平，但它号称包含大部分人。而其共产主义计划，看上去和理论上很公平。所以共产主义在和平时期，对习惯市场经济的中国社会没有多大吸引力。只对少数不问柴米油盐的知识分子有吸引力。

所以在发生中日战争之前，平均财产和大部分人压迫少数人的共产主义思想，在中国只流行于少数知识分子中。即使把重点转移到农村，也只有少数最贫困的人口积极接受。大部分农民，包括很多比较贫困的农民也并不接受共产的想法，只接受把土地平均的想法。共产党的土地革命战争并不成功，短短几年就几乎被消灭。

是旷日持久的中日战争，产生了大量的城市和农村贫民。而中国的共产党也学会了隐藏其共产主义本质，以假装的民主和市场经济面貌，赢得了大部分知识分子和农民的支持。最终确立了一党专政和计划经济的体制。这个体制的经济实质，就是封建农奴制的翻版。所谓的阶级专制必然走向一党专制甚至少数人独裁。

一九七九年，在中国人民的反抗下推翻了封建农奴制的经济体制。但是中共发现中国传统的，以专制政体管理市场经济的模式，可以借鉴来维护共产主义一党专政。当然，在口头上仍然以改革政治来忽悠广大人民，以及外国那些不懂中国的中国问题专家。继续一党专政带来的痛苦，加上半吊子经济改革带来的巨大不平等，就是导致六四民主运动的社会基础。

三十一年前的那场民主运动，为中国人指出了废除一党专政的目标。虽然在巨大的流血牺牲后被镇压下去了，但它明确的思想目标，是今后中国人民努力的方向。如今中共在国内外的倒行逆施，是这种畸形的体制维持不下去的表现。六四民主运动的目标，已经获得大多数中国人的支持，所以实现它只是个时间问题了。

(本评论的英文版本由黄慈萍翻译。魏京生和魏京生基金会感谢她数十年来有关的无偿贡献，特别是使用和发布此译文的许可。)

本篇评论在自由亚洲电台的原始链接：

https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/pinglun/weijingsheng/wjs-06022020112200.html